Spoilers: They are worth your time and your cash, if the deal’s right.

Damage vs. ME-Electronics M6

First, this oddball.  Shapes something like a pro-level gear is the ME-Electronics M6.  It will either remind you of high end IEMs (their intent, I’d imagine) or of hearing aids (probably not their intent).  At anyrate, the earbuds come with a carrying case, several tips including a triple flange tip, a rarity.  These are of universal compatibility type, the first made famous by the EX series by Sony.  MSRP of $50, though if you look hard enough, they can be had as cheap as $15-$20 range plus the standard S&H.

The triple flanges will put off anyone who’s not accustomed to shoving things down their ear canal deeply and intimately.  That’s fine.  The seal provided by the Triple Flanges is quite disappointing, providing nowhere the isolation or the bass levels offered by similar triple flanges on the Shures.  But, as a bonus, if you have other EX series or earbuds (and chances are you will), they will most likely work with them.  Be aware though, the triple flanges go in very deep (!), almost touching my eardrums when I tried them out as is.  Very disconcerting.  For the record, I’ve used the foam plugs that came with the Ultimate Ear Triple.Fi 10s and they seem to provide the best seal.  YMMV however.

As for the sound, very forward, very bass heavy and bright.  In fact, the bass can be very overwhelming at times, but they never get to that cheap, MEGAHYPERULTRADUPERBASS ridiculousness.  It’s clean, crisp bass that’s lacking on most sub $50 earbuds or full sized cans.  Somehow, the ME-Electronic engineers have found a way to keep the bass strong and defined.  Well done, I must say.

Rest of the sound is as expected on the $50 range headphones.  Bright and sharp, with vocals sounding somewhat artificial at times.  Nothing remarkable or noticeable but they are ultra efficient.  Even the wussiest portables from the mid 2000s should be able to drive these to loud satisfactorily volumes.

One more thing I should note about these is that the channel separation on these.  They are very extreme, and creates a very artificial and almost claustrophobic soundstage.  I’m not sure why, perhaps the driver selection and matching are not as rigorous as other headphones are.  I’ve seen worse (particularly with Sorny’s and Magnetboxes being passed as genuine on eBay) but as far as QC goes, the misbalanced/mismatched drivers does it no favors.  My pair exhibits more bass response on the right vs. left, and it explains the extreme channel separation (or perceived).  On most tracks, this is tolerable.  In some tracks, it drives me nuts.

Get the QC on these to a more tolerable levels, and you have a potential Giant Killer.  As is, they are beloved on head-fi.org as a great value earbuds.  I can see why.  I won’t recommend them as such just yet.  Perhaps on M6 ver. 2…

Grade: C+

Damage vs. Superlux HD-681

These are marketed more as a professional over the ear monitors (fancy speak for headphones).  And if you’ve seen these, you can see AKGs all over the place, save for things here and there, like pleather headband vs. actual leather band, or cheaper cushions.  Small things.  It comes with a screw thread adapter to 1/4″ plug, should you want to actually mix or monitor your mix with these.  And for beginners or hobbyist, or I have a feeling that these will work for them.

In a word, they are very revealing.  More so than a $50 street price headphone have any right to.  Balanced response, though I think like all Asian originating headphones/earphones, they tend to lean on the brighter and leaner side of things (vs. American/European with more extended bass response on darker side of sound).  It doesn’t mean that they are bass deprived.  These can pump out the bass beats when needed, making it a suitable phones for DJs in a pinch.

If you like the generally balanced to bright sounds, you’ll dig these.  A little messy and muddy towards the extreme low end, and perhaps suffering from a more 2-D soundstage then it should.  And your ears will get hot very quickly thanks to the pleather earpads.  If you can overlook couple of shortcomings here and there, then the HD681 should be your go to can.  It’s no Giant Killer, but it’s kicking shins here and there.

Grade: B-

Hell, a recent eBay auction of a used pair shows that these sold for $300. You know what you can get for that kind of money? A 3/4th of an iPad. That’s what. And are they worth that kind of Money?

If you can blow it, sure. It’s a curious and interesting find. I think they sound no worse than MDR-E888, probably a bit smoother and more balanced E888 if I had to give my first impression on these. But they do bear one point, that some of these older gears are much better than newer stuff on the market.

First thing though, is to port over all the old posts from damage.wordpress.com.  Don’t worry, I’ll let it be.  However, all the new contents will be here and that’s about it.  Yep.  I’ve got more headphones and DAPs to disemvowel.  And as always, I’m on your side, letting you know what gears sounds like a million bucks while costing you less than a Ben Frank.

More on that really, it’s thanks to the iPod’s mainstream acceptance that the portable media and all gears related (including headphones) have gone down in price for tolerable sets, and the more expensive sets, while remaining fairly pricey, have gotten heaps better.  Call it competition, call it progress, but it’s good to be a fan of music in general right about now.  Think about it.  Even 5 or 10 years ago, it was impossible to imagine that a device the size of your wallet along with a set of headphones that cost… $50 could perform just as well as an entire system that took up 1/2 of your living room.  And that was available whenever you wanted it.

But that’s reality.  In fact, we’re using our phones to listen to music, watch video, keep up with our friends, share our inane thoughts and amusing kitty phots, make reservation at that hip restaurant, or find that hip new restaurant, and occasionally make phone calls.  In one device.  We saw it move about 5 years ago with the introduction of Walkman Phone and the rumblings of iPhone rumors.  The iPhone was a revelation in form and function.

Despite its current woes, the iPhone still remains the standards bearer in terms of all in one device.  It’s a DAP.  It’s a HD Pocket Camcorder.  It’s a Point and Shoot Camera.  It’s a Game System.  It’s an eBook reader.  It’s even a Phone every once in a while.  Try to tell that you’d have that device in your hands to your past self.  Would you have believed it?

And now, what holds for the future?  Even smaller?  The iPod Pico?  Who knows?  But it’s a great time to be a fan of music in general.  Even as DAP will start to shed it’s storage for always connected, streaming library, there’s still room for stored and streamed media.  And there will always be room for discrete MP3 players, DAPs, and even the relic of full sized headphones here and there.  And when Damage finds a value, you bet your ass that he’ll be on it like white on rice.  And he’ll let you know about it.

Until then, enjoy.

And then, there are the JVC MicroHD (HA-FXC50).  They retail for $40, can be had as cheap as $10, and by far, the hidden gems of 2010 as far as Damage is concerned.  They use a different type of driver configuration vs. most other Canal-Buds.  They are, make no mistake, dynamic driver based (not armature driven).  The drivers sit where the buds/sleeves terminate and sit closer to your ears than other Dynamic driver IEMs/Buds.  Therefore, they sound more intimate than other earbuds want.  Like most balanced armature based IEMs.

Then there are the build quality of these drivers.  Metal casings on the outside, silicon air cushions on the inside, small driver housings, and sleeves that are bigger but still comfortable.  Now, all of these are moot if they sound like the Maxwell Peanuts. They don’t.  In fact, they sound much closer to Triple.Fi 10s.  How close?  How about 85% of  Triple.Fis?

Well, it doesn’t have the staging or the balance of the Triple.Fis.  And you shouldn’t expect them to, either.  However, they sound energetic, bassy when it needs to be and bright (very much so that they border on harshness) when the need to.  Punch at times, but mellow when they need to be.  They are excellent performers for all genres.  In fact, listening to these on the Chesky’s Demo CD was a pure pleasure, only failing on depth and holographic testing like many other IEMs have done in the past.

$10-$30.  And you get 85% of quality of $400 IEMs.

Grade: A

AS for my very brief thoughts on Samsung Q2: I miss my buttons.  And the NWZ-E345?  16 Gigs for $70?  Sold.  I do miss some of the high end features like MSC transfer ability, but you know what?  It’s still 16 Gigs of Music for $70.  I can’t argue with that.  Expect a full review on those soon.

A disclosure:  I am a big fan of Sony MDR-V6/7506.  With few exceptions, I have not found any closed set of headphones that comes nearly close to the V6s.  Until now, that is.

It’s been awhile since I’ve listened to these, but they are hands down, one of the best Closed Set of Headphones/Over the Ear (Circumaural if you want to get fancy) Monitors.  The general, well balanced but slightly dark and a bit bass shy sound signature of the Shure set is well present.  That is, it’s very close to the sounds of the Shure SCL4/E4s of yore.  However, as is, the sound stage of these are larger than IEMs.  Whereas the V6s mostly keep things on a single, 2D plane (which isn’t bad), the SRH840s seems to have more dimensionality to them, with a bit of Up and Down definition.  It also has its bright moments like V6s, but isn’t as nearly bright nor sibilant as the V6s.

Will the Shure SRH840 dethrone the legend of V6s?  Probably do a degree, but there are a lot of engineers and music lovers who swear by the V6s, and for good reasons.  It makes well mixed and recorded materials shine; equally, it makes shoddy recordings sound even more so shoddy.  SRHs, on the other hand, seems to be a bit more forgiving on this aspect.

Nonetheless, the Shure SRH840s have the quality (both build and sound) to make it a worthy contender to the V6s.

Grade: A+

As I have noted earlier, the open earbuds are all but extinct in the US market.  So, you’re either left with inferior pack-in earbuds that the manufacturer paid $0.03 out of a warehouse in Timbuktu or a low end bud that came from a warehouse in Shenzen, costing the manufacturer $1.24.  On the other hand, there are tempting eBay auctions from Hong Kong for these, and holy crap Batman, they raise all sorts of Red Flags left, right, and center.  I have some interesting experiences with these auctions I intend to share later on, but there’s a reason why these set of earphones cost $4.00 vs. $40 or $300…

But you like the small earphones (earbuds, if you prefer) AND do not like shoving things down your ear canal.  I respect that.  Unfortunately, Sony doesn’t.  And all they have to offer are Sony Bean earbuds.  Technically competent but really unexciting and ultimately waste of money.  After all, $10 nets you a pretty decent meal, or a pretty damn good pair of earbuds in the JVC Marshmellows, a Damaged Gears favorite.

Imagine my surprise when I found a pair of these hanging around a department store in Busan, Korea.  Costing anywhere between $50-$70 (60000 KRW-72000 KRW) in the mainland, and significantly less at Duty Free Stores (48000 KRW, or about $43-45 given the exchange rate), they were more or less no brainer for this tourist/visitor in Korea.  It was a good choice.

Damage, why would you get an open earbuds in this day and age?

Good question.  For one, incredible sound staging and depth.  Let’s forget the trebles and bass, the responses, and what not.  We’ll come back to those in a moment.  The first thing that blows my mind with these earbuds are its wide sound stage.  Listening to these, they immediately remind of Sony’s much bigger offering, the MDR-SA1000 (another favorite).  Things sound literally 3D without having to resort to gimmicks from the DSP or other trickery.  Comparing these to other similar (and more expensive) offerings in the market, it’s remarkably refreshing.

Once you get past that openness, you start to delve into what the MDR-E888 offers in its core.  To be certain, it’s got that signature Sony Sound: bright trebles with some exaggerated bass (though surprisingly, not as bassy as other Sony buds).   You can EQ the buds, and they will take to EQ like fish to water.  However, you’re not going to kill the natural brightness with burn-in.  In fact, I’ve listened to these for awhile, and if there is burn-in, then they will exhibit very little changes afterwards.  Not that it matters much, since the general sound is agreeable with me from the start.

As I said before, if you have small ear openings, these maybe physically incompatible with your ears, as the drivers are quite large (16mm, IIRC).  You will have hard time tracking these down, though audiocubes.com is probably your best bet.  If you can track them down, and fit these, you will be welcomed into a world of wonderful sound.

They are, still hands down, the best traditional earbuds (not IEMs/Canal type) out there.  Only if you can find them, however.

Grade: B+

However, the trip was very fruitful, both personally and gears wise.  Since this isn’t my Facebook page, I’ll just have to update you on the gears side of things.  So, here is then my quick impression of Sony MDR-E888s (obtained in Korea), JVC Flats (Also obtained in Korea), and Ultimate Ears Triple.Fi 10.  Actually, I’ll save the impressions of Triple.Fi 10 for another post.  Suffice to say, it is one of the most impressive gears in my collection (and this includes Shure E4Cs, at one time of the more beloved IEMs).

MDR-E888:  Sony’s legendary open earbuds, all but extinct from the US Shores once the EX-series of earbuds more or less conquered the earphone market.  Of course, the EX series itself was conquered by clones and me-too in ear buds by many manufacturers, but that’s for another post.

I say the MDR-E888 is legendary (a cursory search would support this claim somewhat), and was considered as such before the Yuin’s of the world made its impact.  It is mostly a forgotten legend now that Sony no longer sells MDR-E888s, or any other high end earbuds, period.  Which is a total shame, since the E888s are very impressive, even more so than the current MDR-EX300/500 line of  in-ear buds.

Somewhat flat and neutral sounding, yet very open and expansive.  In fact, it has remarkably open soundstage, rivaling full sized open cans, Such as Grado SR60 (a very full sized open cans).  E888s takes to EQ like fish to water as well.  I dare not mod these (though there are couple of mods available) as that’s how I killed my first set of E888s (I had a set few years back, thanks to Ben).  It does exhibit some treble roll-off and feels slow at times, especially so with high-energy tracks.  However, given the general balance and openness of the phones, it’s forgivable.  What is not, however, is the large size of the drivers (16.5mm) and may be physically incompatible with certain people’s ears.

Avoid the fakes (get them from reputable source such as Audiocubes) and you’re in possession of a legendary earbuds and reminder of Sony’s glorious past.  A Reminder that Sony is, at heart, an quality electronics company, even if its current line up do not inspire such confidence.

Grade: B+, if you can fit the drivers.  C- if the drivers do not fit.

JVC Flats.  Marshmellows, but bigger.  Very decent sounding for $10-$20.  Vocals do tend to sound awfully sinusy at time.  Rather unremarkable when it comes to sound.  And I think that’s the point here.  But given the price, these are much better bang for your dollars than other closed or clip-ons at this price (save KSC-75s).  Much better than Sony’s offering at this price.  The MDR-V160 comes to mind, which are piss poor compared to the Flats.  The MDR-XD100s are a better pair of cans, but they are two different beasts.

Having sad that, however, I can’t generally recommend the Flats as much as I thought I would.  Given the general good feeling from Head-Fi and what not, I may have expected more from these than what they can offer.  But for the price, it’s entirely unremarkable and inoffensive.  Which is a big enough statement as is.  I suppose.

Grade: C+

Here then, are a set of Monster Turbine In-Ear Speakers.  Admittedly a decent set of cans on their own, they’ve gone and jazzified that up a bit with gold and brass trim, and other things so that there would be legit excuse to charge US$499 (MSRP) along with a modest $100 on-line discount (gees, thanks Monster!).

According to this article, they are OK’d by the Davis family and comes with the endorsement of the estate.  Also, they include some magical Monster Mojo to make older recordings sound lush and full.

Nice to know that the likeness of Mr. Davis will be on a set on a good sounding but overpriced set of Monster products.  Like I said, if this trend continues, we can go ahead and tap the spinning graves of celebs and musicians whose images will grace these products to power the nation.  Huzzah.

On a different note, I’ve migrated most of the materials on Damaged Gears to (http://www.damagedgears.net), which you can visit.  Nothing new there yet, but that will change eventually.